United Rehabilitation Services is not closing, state Rep. Tarah Toohil said Wednesday during a Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce event in Drums.

And the director of a similar program said he is willing to help, because his organization survived a similar situation.

Toohil, R-Butler Township, believes the community can rally to save URS, which announced Saturday it is closing in mid-April because of a lack of funds.

"We're definitely going to be able to do something about this," Toohil said. "They definitely cannot close. It is not an option. I know this community is going to stand up and not allow this to happen. It's a community resource."

Toohil said the URS advisory board is meeting today, and former Hazleton director Kathy Gallagher is coming in from Maryland to help.

Toohil said she first learned of the closing Saturday. On Monday, Toohil said Fred Lokuta, who she described as "a higher-up" in the state Department of Public Welfare, arrived at URS to look at its finances.

Toohil has scheduled a conference call for 2 p.m. today to talk about the finances, which she questioned because she has had trouble getting them from CEO Joseph Pierangeli.

"It is financially mismanaged," Toohil said. "If you are running a business, and you are in the black in January, and now it's March, and you're in the red and you are closing, there is a problem with the finances."

Steve Peterson, president and CEO of CTC Manufacturing, Beaver Meadows - a facility that employs physically- and intellectually-challenged people - told Toohil his organization learned a few lessons he would be willing to share with URS.

"As you're going through this process, sharing some of our story may be helpful," Peterson said. "We don't have all of the answers, but we have some."

Peterson said CTC does light assembly, packing, and embroidery.

"We've been there," he said. "We've gone through the deficit issues, the question of whether or not we were going to survive. We did some hard thinking and made some changes. The last four years we've been able to finish in the black. We are looking at some growth. A potential relocation to the industrial park is being considered."

One change Peterson said was how he thought about CTC.

"It is possible, in this economy and in these situations, to survive and grow, but you have to have a different mindset," Peterson said. "I think all of us, and I'm speaking for myself included, have tended to think too much like a nonprofit. We had to think like a for-profit, where you make investments, and look for a return on our investment and try find ways to make us more productive."

Another change was mixing in non-disabled people in the CTC operation.

"We have 87 employees, 56 percent with disabilities" he said. "One of the things that makes us unique is we use a mixed workforce of disabled and non-disabled people working together which gives us a lot more flexibility. It makes for a more productive workforce. It gives the chance for people with disabilities to work with non-disabled people in the same work environment. It's really been one of the keys that we've been able to work with to make our transition and also to look for growth."

If URS does close, Peterson said CTC could take some URS workers.

"We are operating at a somewhat different level," Peterson said. "Eighty percent of our funding comes from production. We have to look for people where it's not day care, it's truly production where they are truly looking for a job and to develop their job skills."

Toohil said she emailed a list of what URS does to the Hazleton Rotary Club, the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce, and to CAN DO, where Kevin O'Donnell said sent the list to all CAN DO's industries.

One way to help URS is get them more work, Toohil said.

"If they could get a larger stream of revenue, from a larger job, they would be able to sustain URS," she said. "They have their annual bazaar, but they are going to need other fundraisers. They are going to need help with their financial management. If we can get them through until June, then we can plan out the next fiscal year for them."

Toohil said 15 people approached her at the breakfast about it.

"It is of such huge, huge importance, to all of you," Toohil said. "You don't realize if you haven't been to URS, if you don't have a family member that goes there and works there, you don't know how it affects the community. A waitress here emailed me two days ago, and said 'My brother has worked there for such a large number of years.'

"These are intellectually disabled community members, they have developmental delays and intellectual disabilities, and some have physical disabilities," she continued. "URS provides them with a place to go. Many of their parents are elderly and can't take care of them for that part of the day. They can have self-fulfillment. So much pride comes from your work and being able to produce something."

There are URS facilities in Wilkes-Barre and Tunkhannock that are also slated for closing, so Toohil has enlisted the help of state Sens. John Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township, and Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, and state Reps. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, and Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre.

jdino@standardspeaker.com, 570-455-3636

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